The Morning Ledger: Caterpillar to Defend Its Tax Strategy

News Editor

Caterpillar Inc. will be in the hot seat this week as it goes before Congress to explain how it shrinks its U.S. tax bills, according to a section-front story in WSJ’s Marketplace. On Tuesday, Caterpillar will face the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, whose chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, has been a vocal opponent of what he calls “complex structures, dubious transactions and legal fictions.” Caterpillar has already said its effective income-tax rate is relatively high at about 29%.

Nearly across the board, mid-market executives are hiring new employees, buying new technology solutions, acquiring businesses to reach new markets and preparing IPOs, according to a Deloitte survey of more than 500 mid-market executives. But companies are running up against a number of constraints as they seek to expand, particularly in acquiring and retaining skilled talent.